Through Fire and Flames
by Maria-Elric05
Summary: Takes place after For Gedda. A new, young CSI is brought in to investigate what happened to Warrick and find out who shot him. Some welcome her while others only view her as a threat. Can she prove otherwise and catch Warrick's killer? Read and find out!
1. Threat, or Not a Threat, That is the ?

A young woman with long black hair and wearing a black blouse, a long black skirt and black shoes walked into the lobby of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, stopping at the front desk. The secretary was on the phone so she waited quietly.

The secretary hung up the phone a few minutes later and looked up at the young woman standing in front of her.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Right then, Ecklie came around the corner and spotted the young woman standing at the front desk talking to the secretary. He walked over to the desk.

"Thanks, I got it from here Judy." he told the secretary than he turned to the young woman, extending his hand for her to shake. "Hi, I'm Conrad Ecklie, Assistant Director."

"Erica Baker, nice to meet you Mr. Ecklie." she said politely, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Baker. And please, just call me Ecklie, or Conrad, which ever works for you. Shall I show you around and introduce you to some of the folks you'll be working with before you get started on your case?" said Ecklie.

"Sure." said Erica, following Ecklie down the hall and to the breakroom where a small group of people were sitting, somber expressions on their faces and she could understand why.

Ecklie cleared his throat and everyone slowly turned their attention to the new arrivals in the room. Erica looked around at everyone. She noticed one of the guys was about her age, short brown hair and beautiful brown eyes.

'_Alright girl, get a hold of yourself.' _she thought to herself.

"Gang, this is Erica Baker, she's going to be the CSI handling Warrick's case. Now, I know all of you want to be on this case but the Under-sheriff has forbidden it because all of you were close to Warrick. However, I am going to say this. If Miss Baker requests any of your guys' help, I won't deny any of you the opportunity to help. Just don't make me regret it." said Ecklie. He understood that they had lost not only a co-worker and good friend, they had lost a member of the family. "Oh Miss Baker, this is Gil Grissom, he'll be your supervisor, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders, just so you know names. Each one of them are great CSI's and I trust each one of them. Don't hesitate to ask any of them for help."

Erica nodded in understanding.

"Sanders, why don't you give Miss Baker a quick tour of the lab before she heads out to the scene." said Ecklie.

The young man introduced as Greg Sanders, the one about Erica's age, slowly stood up and headed out of the break room and Erica followed. She felt bad for him, for all of them. She understood what it was like to lose a good co-worker and friend. She noticed that Greg was remaining silent, almost as though he didn't want to speak to anyone, let alone her, a stranger who was handling his friend's case. She didn't want them to start off on the wrong foot or appear as though she was a threat. She just came to do her job and catch the person responsible for Warrick Brown's death. She gently took hold of his arm and made him stop.

"Look, Mr. Sanders," she began.

"Please, call me Greg." he said.

"Right, look, you don't have to do this. And I don't want us to get off to a bad start. I wanna catch this guy as much you guys do. And I would really appreciate you help, if you feel up to it. If not, I'll understand." said Erica.

"What about what Ecklie said?" asked Greg.

"My problem, I'll deal with it." said Erica. "So, what do you say? Care to help me catch this bastard and put him where he belongs?"

"Yeah, sure, absolutely." said Greg.

"Great." said Erica and the two of them headed out to the parking lot. "Feeling up to driving?" she asked tossing Greg the keys to her car.

Greg caught the keys, a little surprised but he didn't argue. He could use the distraction. He followed Erica over to her car and the two of them climbed in and Greg drove them to the crime scene in the alley outside the diner where Warrick was found.

There was crime scene tape up blocking off the area, a few police cars with their lights flashing, several police officers guarding the scene and onlookers and passersby who were curious to what was going and what happened. As they got out of the car and Erica grabbed her kit, they could see the coroner's van on the other side of the alley and David Phillips next to Warrick's car, leaning into the window. Erica noticed Greg stop and almost terrified to go any further, afraid that if he crossed the crime scene tape and walked over to that car, everything he and the others had been told would become a harsh reality. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her. She could see the pain in his eyes.

"You sure you can handle this? You don't have to do this." she said.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. Just didn't seem real 'til now." said Greg.

"Why don't you talk to some of the staff in the diner and see if they saw or heard anything, I'll take care of this." said Erica.

Greg just nodded than walked away, heading into the diner as quick as he could.

Erica showed her badge to one of the officers than ducked under the tape and headed toward the car where David stood on the passenger side, leaning in through the door.

"You the coroner?" she asked politely.

"Yes, David Phillips." he said, pausing what he was doing long enough to turn his attention to her.

"Erica Baker, I've been brought in to handle this case." said Erica. She was almost hesitant to ask but knew she had to. "So, what do we got?"

"Two gunshot wounds, one to the neck which was a through and through. Another to the chest, I'll recover for ballistics at autopsy." said David. He was just as upset about this as everyone else. It was one thing to investigate the death of a stranger but this one hit close to home.

"Thanks." said Erica. She set her kit down and started examining the car and the ground around her until they removed his body so she could have the car towed back to the lab. She carefully walked around to the drivers side, photographing the glass on the ground. She spotted a bullet embedded in the wall. She photographed it than carefully collected it, not that it mattered. It was too mangled to hope for anything. She walked back to the passenger side and saw no glass from the passenger window. "Shooter must have approached from the passenger side, got him to roll down the window, maybe asking for directions, must have caught him off guard and fired through the open window. Explains the shards of glass on the driver side but there's none on the passenger side."

"Left the gun in the passenger seat too." said David, carefully picking it up with a gloved hand.

"Probably wiped it clean but it's worth a shot. Hopefully we'll get something." said Erica, grabbing an evidence bag and letting David slip the gun it. She watched as they loaded Warrick's body into a body bag on a gurney, loaded him into the van, closed the doors and drove away. She turned back to the car, catching someone coming toward her out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Greg coming toward her.

"Several people in the diner heard the gunshots but no one saw anything. Hope you're having more luck." said Greg.

"Well, whoever it was came up on the passenger side, got Warrick to roll down his window, fired inside the open window and hit him twice, one of which was a through and through that shattered the driver side window. They also left behind the gun but I'm thinking they wiped it clean before they left it. Once we get the car towed back to the lab and hopefully we'll get more to go on." said Erica.

Greg just simply nodded his head in agreement, not trusting himself enough to speak. It was saddened by the loss of his friend but he was also angry at the person that did this and it didn't look like they would be able to find enough evidence to find this guy and make him, or her, pay for what they did.

Erica seemed to notice this but thought best not to say anything.

"We should probably head back to the lab, start processing the car and see what else we can find. Hopefully we get something to nail this guy." she said instead. She packed up her kit, grabbed it and headed back to her car with Greg. She placed her kit in the backseat and was getting ready to get in when a voice called out to her.

"Miss Baker?!"

Erica turned her attention to the source of the voice. An older man in a suit was heading their way.

"That's the Undersheriff, Jeff McKeen." said Greg.

The Undersheriff approached Erica and reached out to shake his hand.

"Jeff McKeen." he said, introducing himself.

"Undersheriff, I know. And obviously you know who I am so I don't need to introduce myself." said Erica.

"I see." said McKeen. That's when he suddenly noticed Greg as he walked around to join Erica. He didn't seem at all happy to see him. "What's he doing here?"

"I asked for his help. I need help from someone who knew Mr. Brown if I'm gonna find who killed him. I believe it helps to know a little about the victim." said Erica.

"No. I want him off the case, now." said McKeen.

"Well, with all due respect sir, I don't need your permission. I talked to the sheriff AND the mayor before I arrived and they said I can handle this case any way I see fit as long as I followed the evidence and catch whoever did this. Are you willing to take my word for it? Or should I call the sheriff? I have him on speed dial." said Erica, holding up her phone.

McKeen looked as though he wanted to say something but than decided better of it and instead walked away.

"Thanks." said Greg.

"No problem. I don't like being told how to handle a case, especially by those who've never actually done our job or understand it. Besides, he just seems like someone who's only interested in covering his own ass when something goes wrong." said Erica.

"You have no idea." said Greg, smiling for the first time since hearing about Warrick. He hadn't expected someone like her to be handling Warrick's case. He expected someone way more serious and older.

Erica couldn't help but smile too. Being around Greg and seeing him smile, made it feel contagious. He seemed like the kind of guy who had a good sense of humor, who could make you smile no matter what the situation but could also be serious when it came to his work.

The two of them climbed in the car and headed back to the lab. They paid Mandy a quick and, confirming Erica's hunch, no fingerprints were found on the gun so they headed into the ballistics lab.

"Hey Greg, who's your friend?" asked the lab tech.

"Hey Bobby, this Erica Baker." said Greg, politely introducing her to his once fellow lab rat.

"Bobby Dawson. You're here to investigate Warrick's..case aren't you?" he asked.

"Nice to meet and yes, I am." said Erica. She held up the evidence bag containing the gun. "This was left in the front passenger seat. We need you to tell us anything can." she said before handing it over to Bobby.

"You got it." said Bobby.

Erica and Greg than headed to the break room to wait 'til Warrick car arrived. They each grabbed a cup and poured themselves some coffee, knowing it was going to be a long night.

Right then, Catherine and Nick came barging it and Catherine walked straight over to Erica and knocked the cup from her hand, sending coffee all over the floor. Greg started to walk forward to break it up before it got out of hand but Nick blocked his path.

"You little bitch. Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just come in here and take over? Well, let me tell you something. This team has worked together for a long time, we trust each other, we would give our lives for each other. You are not gonna come in here and just ruin it. How dare you only ask Greg to help you with the case and not the rest of us." said Catherine.

"Well then let me tell you something Ms. Willows, I didn't come here to ruin anything or to break up your team. I know how long you all have worked together and I respect each and every one of you. Now, I am truly and deeply sorry about your friend, I really am. But I am here to do a job and that's what I am going to do. If you wanna help, just say so otherwise, back off." said Erica.

The room went dead silent. Not many people had ever spoken to Catherine like that before, especially those outside the team. Most people were too scared of her when she was angry to say much of anything to her. Even Catherine seemed taken aback.

"I am not a threat. I only want to help. Now, Warrick's car is being brought in. It's yours and Nick's if you guys want it." said Erica.

Catherine was a little surprised by this but she backed off and left the room and Nick followed.

Erica quickly recovered from the confrontation than grabbed some paper towels and started cleaning up the coffee off of the floor, trying to act as though what had just happened didn't bother her even though it did, she didn't want Greg to know that though.

Greg set down his own cup, grabbed some paper towels of his own and began helping Erica clean up the mess. He could tell, even though she was trying hard to hide it, that that little confrontation with Catherine bothered her.

"You alright?" he asked, hoping she would open up to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Erica lied, and badly.

"You're a bad liar. Come on, you can tell me. I may not seem like it, but I'm a good listener." said Greg.

Erica looked up at Greg to see him smiling warmly at her. She stood up and threw away the now completely soaked paper towels that she had been cleaning with than walked over to the couch and sat down, putting her head in her hands.

Greg threw away his own wet paper towels than walked over and sat down next to Erica on the couch.

"I shouldn't have come here. This isn't what I wanted. Everyone sees me as a threat." said Erica.

"I don't." said Greg.

Erica took her hands away and looked at Greg to see him smiling at her again and she couldn't help but smile too. Smiling was contagious around him but she didn't mind it.

"Thanks, I guess." she said. She suddenly felt herself blushing, not really sure why. _'What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly blushing like this?'_ She quickly turned away, hoping that Greg hadn't seen or noticed it. She then felt a hand on top of hers and looked down to see Greg's. She felt her heart start racing. _'Come on girl, get ahold of yourself. You just met him, you shouldn't be falling for him already, it's too soon. Get it under control.'_ she silently scolded herself. She had been hurt by enough guys in the past, she didn't want it to happen again. She didn't think she could take it. She quickly got up and headed out of the break room before she did anything she might regret later. She stopped long enough to look back to see that Greg wasn't following. "You coming with?" she asked him. She watched as he got up and followed her, the two of them heading to the garage.

Catherine and Nick looked up from Warrick's car that they were currently processing.

"I come in peace." said Erica, holding up her hands.

Catherine heaved a sigh but said nothing.

Erica slowly approached the car, studying every spot so as to not miss anything.

"Listen, Erica, I wanna apologize for earlier. It was uncalled for. I'm just a little upset and stressed out right now, we all are." said Catherine.

"It's okay. This is hard on all of you and I can understand that. I know what's it like to lose someone close to you." said Erica.

"Thank you, for your forgiveness. And thanks for letting us help, you have no idea how much this means to us." said Catherine.

"Oh I think I do. And your welcome." said Erica, smiling as pleasantly as she could. "So, you guys found anything?"

"No, nothing other than some blood on the driver side, which is most likely Warrick's. Whoever it was was smart enough not to leave any evidence behind. They were in and out without anyone seeing them." said Catherine, clearly frustrated at the lack of evidence.

Erica couldn't blame her. She was starting to feel pretty frustrated herself. People always left evidence behind, they just had to find it and right now, that was proving to be very difficult and that's what made her mad. No one should get away with murder but it looks like this guy was going to. It made her feel like a failure. She came to help but she couldn't see where she was helping, just making things worse.


	2. A Deal's A Deal

It had been almost a week since Warrick was shot and found in the alley outside the diner. The case had grown all but cold. Erica refused to give up and leave until the case was solved and Warrick's killer was rotting in jail, she had made that promise to his fellow team members and friends. They were grateful that she wasn't willing to give up on their friend's case. They offered to help when they could but for now, they had to move on to other cases whether they liked it or not. On top of that, Ecklie had hired a new CSI, a young female CSI. Her name was Bryce Adams and although she was smart and witty, she was also flirty and that, for some reason, made Erica uneasy, especially whenever Bryce was around Greg. Nothing would have made her happier than to knock her down a few pegs but she held herself in control. It probably wouldn't be a very smart idea on her part and she knew it.

On the brighter side for the Vegas CSI's, their old colleague, Sara Sidle had returned. Only problem was that she was no longer one of them and wasn't allowed in the building like they were. Grissom was trying to help her get a job as a lab tech but it wasn't working out the one they wanted.

Erica was staying in a motel for the time being and hating every minute of it. She never got any peace and quiet, let alone any sleep when she could even attempt it. She had thought about going to a different motel until she was finished with the case but wasn't sure about doing so. She had even voiced this out loud to Greg (the others were still cautious around her but were being friendly enough; there'd been no more confrontations and for that she was glad) one day while they sat in the break room together, both going over the case file to see if they had missed anything, even the tiniest bit of evidence but no luck.

"Well, since you don't like staying in a motel, why don't you just come stay with me? I've got the room and besides, I hardly doubt either of us will be there anyway since we're usually here as it is. Not like either of us actually has a real life outside of work." said Greg.

"That's kind of you Greg but I couldn't intrude on you like that. We've barely even known each other a week. For all you know I could be some kind of crazed psychopath." said Erica.

"I think I'll take my chances. Besides, I've seen my share of psychos and I highly doubt you're one of them. You're too nice and too beautiful to be one." said Greg, hoping to boost her spirits and hoping she would agree to stay with him. Truth be told, he felt something for her but he just wasn't sure what yet. He wondered if he was falling for her. He just loved being around her. There was just something about her that made his heart race when she just looked at him.

Erica looked up at him like she had never received a comment like that from a guy before. She smiled than looked back down, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing but Greg had caught it.

"Alright, I'll accept your offer but on one condition." said Erica, looking back up at him once her face quit flushing.

"What's that?" asked Greg, feeling a little bit nervous about what might have been running through her mind at that moment.

"You have show me the sights and best places to hang out around here." said Erica.

Greg immediately felt himself grow calm. He didn't know what he had been so afraid of, there wasn't exactly anything dangerous about her. He just wasn't sure if he ever wanted to know what ever went on inside that head of hers.

"Deal." he finally said, shaking her hand as though they were sealing a business deal or something.

Right then, Grissom walked into the break room, seeing the pair of them sitting side by side, smiling at each other. If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't know Erica very well and didn't trust her easily or the fact that Greg was a member of his team and he looked out for the younger CSI, he would have thought that the two of them would make a good couple. He quickly cleared his throat to get their attention. Both immediately turned toward him.

"Well, good news is that it's been a rather slow night and I'm going to allow the two of you to leave early. You've both been working hard and you deserve it. Now get out of here before I change my mind." said Grissom.

"Looks like I get to take you up on that deal of ours." said Erica.

This quickly caught Grissom's attention.

"What deal is that?" he asked.

"Oh Erica hasn't been sleeping well in that motel she's staying at so I offered to let her stay with me and show her around." said Greg.

"I see." said Grissom. His cautious side took over. "Greg, can I talk to you for a moment, privately?"

"I'll meet you outside." said Erica, catching the tone in Grissom's voice that basically told her that he still didn't trust her. She grabbed her stuff and headed out, leaving Greg alone with his boss.

"Greg, I'm only asking this because I'm looking out for you. Are you sure you wanna do this? Are you even sure that you can trust her? You barely know her." said Grissom.

"Grissom, I appreciate your concern, but I know what I'm doing. You and the others may not like her much or even trust her for that matter, but I do. She's a good person. I hope you and the others learn to see that. But like I said, I know what I'm doing." said Greg and left before his boss could stop him.

"I hope so." said Grissom as he watched his youngest team member heading down the hall.

Greg met Erica just outside as she stood waiting for him. He noticed that she looked worried about what his boss may have said to him.

"Don't worry about Grissom, he just doesn't trust people easily." he said, trying to offer some small comfort.

"Yeah, apparently neither do the others." said Erica bitterly.

Greg walked over and gently put his hands on her arms.

"Hey, for what it's worth, whether the others trust you or not, I do." he said, staring her in the eyes.

Erica just stared back, afraid to look away. She felt lost in his gorgeous brown eyes and she didn't even want to find her way back. She could stay lost in his eyes forever if she knew that she could. For some reason that she could not explain, and not sure she wanted to, he just had a way of making her heart melt without even trying to. Just looking at him made her feel weak in the knees and she felt her breath catch in her throat. If he wasn't holding onto her arms, her legs would have done given out. She suddenly felt the need to kiss him right then and there. She wanted to act on it but wasn't sure she should. She didn't even know if he felt the same for her. She decided she better break the now awkward silence between them.

"So, where are we going since you agreed to show me the sights?" she asked.

"It's a surprise." said Greg, leading Erica toward his car.

"I hate surprises." said Erica, now wishing that she hadn't asked.

"You'll like this one, trust me." said Greg.

"I'd better. I'd hate to have to hurt you. I'm just starting to like you. I want to try and keep it that way." said Erica as they stood by his car.

"You mean love me, you're starting to love me. You liked me when you came in." said Greg.

"And what makes you think that?" asked Erica.

Greg pondered this for a second than he moved closer to Erica, pinning her back against the car, pressing his body close to hers and placing his hands on the car on either side of her so that she had nowhere to go. Erica suddenly felt her heart racing and it seemed like breathing was becoming difficult for her.

"'Cause you wouldn't let me do this or get this close if you didn't." said Greg.

Erica couldn't hide the smile on her face and she suddenly felt like she was back in high school again. She had to admit that there was something about Greg that seemed to make him almost irresistible to her.

"Alright, I will admit that you do have a certain charm that I find appealing." she told him.

"Appealing huh?" asked Greg, amused.

"Yeah." said Erica.

Greg pulled away, much to her disappointment, and opened the passenger door for her.

"Ladies first." he said.

"Oh, such a gentleman." said Erica, climbing in.

Greg shut the door than walked around and climbed in the driver seat.

"I better like this surprise that you seem to have planned or I'm gonna have to open up a can of whoop ass on you." said Erica.

Greg just smiled as he started the car and drove off.

* * *

Greg and Erica walked in the door of Greg's apartment, both of them laughing and almost tripping over each other as they came in. Both of them were obviously drunk but having fun nonetheless. They had taken a cab, knowing neither of them were capable of driving.

"I had a lot of fun tonight Greg, thank you. We'll have to do it again some time." said Erica, sitting(or rather, falling down) onto Greg's couch.

Greg walked over and sat down next to her, almost falling over on top of her.

"Yeah, we definitely will. I had a lot of fun tonight too. So, I got at least six girls' numbers. How many numbers did you get?" he asked. They had decided to have a little competition to see who could get the most numbers by the end of the night.

"Six. Damn, I think that Wendy was right, I'm a female version of you." said Erica.

"Sure you're not adopted?" asked Greg.

"I don't know, I'll have to look into it." said Erica. She then laid down on her side, laying her head on Greg's lap and using it for a pillow. "Man, you wore me out."

"I can see that but I'm not a pillow." said Greg.

"Really? You're comfortable enough to be one." said Erica.

"Geeh, glad you think so. I'm still not a pillow." said Greg, making Erica sit up.

"You're no fun." said Erica, pretending to pout.

"That's not what you said earlier." said Greg.

"Yeah, well, guess what? I lied." said Erica, trying to tease him.

"Uh huh, sure." said Greg, not biting.

Silence passed between them for a few minutes. Then Erica laid her head back down on Greg's lap again, this time facing him. He couldn't help but laugh at how stubborn she was.

"Persistent, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes I am. I told you mister, you're comfy." said Erica. She closed her eyes as Greg gently started stroking her head.

"Since you're gonna be staying here now, you can take my bed and I'll just sleep on the couch." he said. He could feel his breath catching in his throat as he stared down at Erica. She was so beautiful and they had an unexplainable connection.

"I'm not gonna kick you out of your bed Greg." said Erica without opening her eyes.

"You're not, I'm offering." said Greg.

"Well I'm not accepting." said Erica.

"So what do you propose then? 'Cause I'm not letting you sleep on the couch." said Greg.

"Then I guess we'll both just have to take the bed. Not like either of us take up much room anyway." said Erica.

"Alright then. Come on, I'll even see if I can find something to let you borrow to sleep in." said Greg.

Erica opened her eyes and sat up, letting Greg up than he helped her up off the couch and led her to his bedroom. He managed to find her a shirt and a pair of shorts from his dresser and she went into the bathroom to change. When she came back, he had already changed himself and was laying in bed. He looked up at her and, even though she was wearing his clothes, he still thought that she looked stunning.

"You look better in my clothes than I do." he said.

"And you may not get these back either. They're quite comfortable." said Erica, laying down next to him, lying on her side so that she could face him.

"What is it with you and me or my things being comfortable?" asked Greg.

Erica shrugged.

"I've always thought men's clothes were more comfortable than women's." said Erica.

They continued to talk for awhile until they both fell asleep. The next morning, Erica was awakened by the smell of coffee being made and something else. She looked beside her and saw Greg's spot empty. She got up and headed to the kitchen to find Greg standing over the stove, cooking.

"I didn't know that you could cook." she said, walking over to stand next to him.

Greg turned around as she spoke and watched her walk toward him, his heart hammering in his chest.

"I normally don't. Just on certain occasions and for certain people." he said, pausing in his cooking long enough to hand her a cup of coffee.

"Mmm, guess I should feel so special." said Erica, taking the cup and smiling at him, leaning back against the counter next to him as she watched him cook.

Greg made no reply, concentrating on the task in front of him.

"So how you feeling after last night?" asked Erica.

"Okay I guess. You remember any of it?" asked Greg.

"Bits and pieces here and there. I do remember that I had fun and that you promised that we'd do it again some time." said Erica.

"I don't remember promising anything." said Greg.

"Really? 'Cause I do." said Erica.

"Well you must have been drunker than I was last night 'cause I never promised you anything." said Greg.

"Alright, you got me." said Erica, holding up her hands in surrender. "But I really do want to do it again some time." she added.

Greg turned and looked at her. He could tell she was serious. He couldn't help but smile at the possibility of them having a repeat of last night.


	3. Love Will Find A Way

Once they had eaten their breakfast, they decided they would take turns taking a shower. The only problem was that Erica had none of her clothes with her, some of them were in her car and she had left it at the lab yesterday when she rode with Greg.

"Give me your keys and I'll go get you some clothes while you go ahead and take your shower." said Greg.

"You don't have to do that Greg." said Erica.

"I want to. What can I say, I'm a nice guy." said Greg.

"The keys are in my jeans that I was wearing yesterday." said Erica, smiling at how nice he was being to her. She wasn't used to it.

Greg went and got her car keys than grabbed his own, heading toward the door with Erica behind him. He had just opened the door to walk out when she spoke.

"Hey, Greg." she said, making him turn to face her. "Thanks, for everything, for being so nice to me. I can't say that it happens often. I've never had many friends."

"I find that hard to believe." said Greg.

"Yeah, well, it's true. I guess people are just intimidated by me or whatever." said Erica.

"I'm not." said Greg, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Erica could suddenly felt herself blushing, quickly turning her gaze away from Greg, hoping that he hadn't seen it. Then she felt his fingers on her chin as he brought her eyes back up to his and she found herself unable to move as she stared into his gorgeous brown eyes. She was transfixed by his eyes, feeling almost as though she was under a spell, not that she minded. Then Greg leaned down and claimed her lips with his. She suddenly felt like she was floating on air. It was everything she thought it would be. It was so gentle, so warm and sweet. She didn't want it to end but disappointment filled her when he pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." said Greg.

"Don't apologize, I wanted it." said Erica, not wanting him to feel bad.

Greg just smiled, glad to hear that she wanted it as much as he did.

"I'll..be right back." he said. He gave her a quick kiss. "Hold onto that for me 'til I get back."

"Hurry." said Erica.

"I will, don't worry. Lock the door behind me." said Greg, reluctantly turning around and walking away.

Erica watched Greg until he got in his car and drove away before shutting the door and locking it. She stood there for a minute, still able to feel and taste his lips on hers. After a couple minutes, she headed into the bathroom to take her shower. She got the water to the temperature that she wanted it before shedding off the clothes she borrowed from Greg last night and stepped in, letting the water run over her. She made sure to take her time, washing herself than just standing under the stream of water and enjoying her shower. After she was satisfied, she turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her, walking into Greg's room and sitting on his bed to wait for him to get back.

It wasn't long before she heard the front door unlock and open than close again. She got up and headed toward the living room, seeing Greg locking the door back before setting down his keys on the table. When he looked up and caught sight of her standing there in nothing but a towel. He froze, his eyes locked on her.

"What? You act like you've never seen a naked woman in a towel before." said Erica seductively, taking a few steps toward him until she was standing in front of him. She took the bag with her clothes in it from him, tossing it off to the side. She took ahold of his shirt and pulled him down to her, taking his lips with his. She then decided to rid him of his shirt, pulling away from him and sliding it up over his head, tossing it to the floor. She then looked up at him to see if he'd make the next move.

Greg's lips made their to her neck as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. They made it to the bed and basically fell down onto it. Erica forced Greg onto his back before her hands moved to undo his jeans, releasing his now hardened member. She than pressed her lips back to his as she got rid of the towel wrapped around her body. She felt Greg's tongue on her lips, silently asking permission, and she granted, letting him slip his tongue in her mouth, tasting and savoring every inch. She laid on her back, pulling Greg over on top of her and she could feel the tip of his member against her wet entrance and waited patiently, or as patiently as she could. She felt him slowly start to enter her and, even though she knew he was doing 'cause he was afraid he might hurt her, she couldn't help but feel frustrated so she wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed him the rest of the way in, moaning at how good it felt. She had been with her share of guys but none of them had felt as good as Greg did right then. Greg felt so good and so right. Now she knew she would never be able to leave Vegas, not without leaving Greg behind too and that thought alone hurt her.

Greg broke away from Erica's lips and looked at her. He wanted this and he could tell that she wanted this and he hated to even ask but he had to be sure that this was just what she wanted, that she wasn't going to wake up in the morning and regret what they had done tonight.

"Erica, are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked, staring her in the eyes.

"Yes and if you don't take me here and now, I'm going to scream." said Erica.

That was all he needed. Trailing kisses along her neck and collarbone, he slowly began to move himself in and out of her, keeping his thrust at a slow and steady pace to begin with. Erica didn't mind one bit. It felt good either way. All that mattered was that she was with Greg and right now, he was making her his. She wasn't really sure where this would lead them after this night but she knew that she wasn't going to regret it when she woke up in the morning. This was what she wanted and now, she was getting exactly what she wanted. She could die happy right now, not that she wanted to but she could. She gasped as she felt Greg increase his pace slightly, going faster and harder.

"Oh Greg...oh feels so good..." she heard herself whisper in his ear between moans. She could feel his hot breath on her skin and hear his moans with hers.

"Oh God Erica...I want you, I want you so bad." Greg whispered in her ear between moans and pants.

"Oh...I'm yours, I'm all yours...as long as you want me." she managed to get out before she felt him increase his pace again, going even harder and faster. She moaned louder, almost to the point that she was screaming. She didn't think she could hold out much longer and she didn't know if he could either but somehow they both held on, enjoying every minute and the feel of their bodies together.

A few minutes they found that they could hold out no longer and both cried out as they came at the same time, Greg thrusting a couple more times before stopping and collapsing on top of her, trying to catch his breath. Neither of them moved, wanting to stay like this forever.

"You know, I don't usually do things like this," said Erica, pausing mid-sentence and she could the tension from Greg. "..but I'm glad I did." she finished, smiling.

Greg relaxed again and smiled. He had been afraid that she already regretted what they had just done when she first spoke but that disappeared instantly when she said that she was glad they did it and even smiled at him. He kissed her again, softly and it was almost as though he wasn't even touching.

A few hours later found the two of them laying side by side with just a blanket covering them. Greg was laying on his back with Erica laying beside him, her head laying on his chest as she listened to his heart beat and felt the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Her arms were wrapped around his chest and he had one arm around her, running his hand up and down her back while his other hand rubbed her arm, stopping to tangle his fingers with hers.

"Where is this leading us?" Erica suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Greg.

"Come on Greg, I need to know. What does this mean for us?" asked Erica, propping herself up on one elbow and looking Greg in the eyes. " Is this just gonna be a one time thing, or is it more than that?" She waited for an answer, hoping for the one she wanted.

"What do you want?" asked Greg.

"I don't want this to be a one time thing, I want it to be more. I wanna stay here in Vegas, with you but only if that's what you want too. I meant what I said earlier, it wasn't just a caught up in the moment thing. I'm yours as long as you want me." said Erica.

"That's what I want too. I'll be yours as long as you want me, and I hope you'll want me forever." said Greg.

"Oh I planned on that." said Erica before leaning down and kissing him. She brought her leg up between his and brushed up against him, causing him to moan into her mouth. She pulled away after a moment, looking down at him mischievously.

"You're evil, you know that." said Greg.

"I'm a woman, what can I say." said Erica.

"We're just got started in this relationship and you're already being cruel to me. Couldn't you be nice to me for awhile? I think I deserve it." said Greg.

"I supposed but remember, you asked for it." said Erica, grinning from ear to ear. She kissed him again, feeling herself becoming aroused again.

* * *

When Erica and Greg showed up at the lab together the next day, it caused a few curious looks from others in the lab, especially from Nick and Grissom but Erica received a glare from Catherine. If looks could kill, Erica was sure she would have dropped dead from that glare. Her and Greg had agreed to keep their relationship quiet for awhile, not sure how the team would react to them being together. They figured Nick and Grissom would be okay with it, Sara would be happy for them but Catherine was another story. Erica knew that Catherine didn't like her and neither did she trust her but she put up with her.

The start of shift went without any incidents and Erica was hoping the rest of it would too. No one had chanced asking her about why her and Greg had showed up together, which she was glad for because she wasn't sure what she would tell them. She knew Grissom wouldn't ask because he knew about the deal her and Greg had made yesterday but she wasn't sure if he had told anyone else on night shift yet or even if he would. However, she knew that Catherine was itching to demand answers from her and that's what made her nervous the most. She didn't think she would be able to even lie to Catherine, knowing that if she did and then Catherine found out the truth, it would just make things worse between them. When she went to take a break, she pulled Greg into the locker room without anyone noticing, thankfully, and she shut the door behind them.

"I don't know if I can do this." she told him.

"What do you mean?" asked Greg.

"This, what's going on between us. I don't know if I can keep hiding from everyone. Everytime Catherine walks by or even looks at me, I just wanna break down and tell her but at the same time I can't because I know the minute I do, she's gonna freak. And I can only imagine how Grissom is going to react." said Erica.

"Calm down Erica, you're worrying about this too much." said Greg.

"Am I? You've seen the way they all act around me. They hate me, they don't trust me. And they're gonna hate me even more when they find out about us." said Erica.

"Hey hey, relax. Do want to tell them? 'Cause we can if that will help you feel better." said Greg.

"No, no..I mean, I don't know. I mean, a part of me does but another part of me doesn't. I don't know what to do." said Erica.

"Then we'll tell them. It's bound to come out sooner or later, might as well get it out now and get it over with." said Greg.

"You really think we should?" asked Erica.

"Yes, I do. Besides, with you acting this nervous, we're liable to get busted eventually anyway." said Greg, making a joke to try and cheer her up. And it worked.

Erica couldn't help but smile, knowing that he was right. She could feel herself relaxing.

"Alright, let's tell them. If that's really what you think we should do than let's do it." she said.

Greg smiled, seeing that she was more relaxed now than when she had drug him in there. He than had the sudden urge to take advantage of the situation, the fact they were in a room alone and were less likely to be seen by anyone passing by. He closed the space between them and taking hold of her lips with his, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him.

"Oh my God!"

Both looked up and stared in shock when they saw Catherine standing in the doorway of the locker room, staring at them horror struck.

"Cath, listen, before you freak out or anything, let me explain." said Greg quickly, moving around in front of Erica in case Catherine tried to attack her or something.

"I don't believe this. I thought you were smarter than this Greg. How could you? Wait 'til Grissom finds about this." said Catherine and she was out the door before either of them could say anything.

"We're so busted, aren't we?" asked Erica.

Greg just nodded before the two of them headed out after Catherine. She was already at Grissom's office when they exited the locker room and inside before they could catch up with her.

"We are in so much trouble." said Erica.

Greg said nothing as the two calmly walked into Grissom's office, both figuring they might as well take their licks and get it over with.

Catherine had just finished telling Grissom about what she saw in the locker room when they walked into his office and they just stood there waiting as he stared at them, his expression unreadable which was not a big surprise with him.

Erica held onto Greg's hand with both of hers, lacing the fingers of one of her with his. She was nervous about how Grissom was going to react but she was determined to face it with Greg, move nervous about what he boss might do to him. She didn't want Greg to lose his job because of her.

"How long has this been going on between you two?" asked Grissom finally.

"Last night was the first time." said Greg.

Grissom nodded than looked at Catherine, who was expecting him to discipline them.

"Technically they're adults Catherine. What they do in their personal lives is their business, so long as it doesn't effect their work." he said.

Catherine couldn't believe it. She turned and stormed out of the office and down the hall.

"Now, this isn't going to effect your work now is it?" asked Grissom.

"No, it's not." said Greg.

"So I take it that you are now planning are staying here in Vegas Erica?" asked Grissom.

"Yes sir, I am." said Erica.

"Well, then I guess I might as well make you the sixth and final member of the team since we are, or were still one man short. But the moment that the two of your's relationship begins to effect your work, it efficiently becomes my business and I have the right to take action as I see fit. Do I make myself clear?" said Grissom.

"Yes sir, crystal." said Erica while Greg merely just nodded.

"Okay. And don't worry about Catherine, I'll take care of her." said Grissom.

Erica nodded before her and Greg turned and left Grissom's office.

"See? Grissom doesn't hate you." said Greg.

"No, he just knew that they wasn't anything he could do as long as we keep our relationship outside the lab, which what we were doing in the locker room moments ago wasn't exactly keeping out of the workplace." said Erica.

"He gave you a job." said Greg, trying to reason with her.

"Woo hoo, let me jump for joy at the one nice thing he's done towards me." said Erica sarcastically as, for some odd reason, they walked back into the locker room.

"Would you stop it. Grissom does not hate you. As a matter of fact, I think he's starting to like you more. Nick may not treat the same as he does the rest of us but he doesn't hate you either. He just needed to get used to you seeing as you have been investigating a case where his best friend was murdered. And I happen to think that Sara has been treating you almost like a sister whenever you're around each other." said Greg.

"And what about Catherine? I suppose next you're gonna tell me that she doesn't hate me either, that she's just venting anger over Warrick's death me because I'm the new girl around here and the easiest to vend on?" asked Erica as she leaned up against the lockers, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at Greg.

"Something along those lines, yeah." said Greg, walking over to stand directly in front of her, his eyes boring into her.

Erica just let out a soft chuckle but didn't argue.

Greg leaned forward and captured her lips, kissing her slowly and softly. He dipped his tongue into her mouth as she parted her lips, tasting every bit of her and savoring the way she tasted. His hands moved to her waist, pulling her against him as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, kissing him back and her tongue battling with his for dominance. When they finally pulled apart a few minutes later, both were out of breath and panting.

"We should really get back to work before we get in trouble." said Erica.

"You had to ruin the moment." said Greg, smiling despite the fact. He wasn't really all that disappointed, knowing they could finish once they got back to his place.

With that in mind, the two of them reluctantly parted ways.


	4. The Feds and Scenarios

Erica sat in the layout room alone, going over Warrick's file again and rechecking all the evidence from the crime scene photos to the bullets to the glass fragments she collected that did indeed belong to Warrick's car to the autopsy report to the car and to the gun left behind that Bobby couldn't find out who it was registered to and was recovered at the scene from Warrick's passenger seat. Something wasn't adding up, her instincts were telling her that. Yet she had gone over every piece of evidence she had but still came up with nothing. She turned back to the photos of the scene, looking at each one closely, hoping to see something that she or any of the others hadn't noticed before.

Right then, Greg walked into the layout room, knocking politely as he came in to get her attention so as not to startle her.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey." said Erica, looking up at Greg for a moment than turning back to the photos.

"What're you doing?" asked Greg.

"Going over the evidence from Warrick's file." said Erica.

"Again?" asked Greg.

"Again." said Erica with a small laugh. "I know we've gone over it almost a million times but I still feel like we missed something. I don't know, I guess I just don't like losing."

"Yeah, well, none of us do. But sometimes you have to." said Greg.

"What was one of the first cases you lost?" asked Erica, turning her attention back to him.

"Well, it was a case Sara and I were working on. I hadn't been a CSI long so I still had a lot to learn. Someone had found an abandoned car. Two bodies were found in the trunk and they had pretty much liquefied from the heat. We were eventually able to i.d. them and even found out who may have killed them but he was long gone before we could get to him." said Greg. "What was your first case that you lost?"

"Someone found a body in a dumpster, not far from where I lived actually. My supervisor sent me to the scene on my own. Turns out the body was that of a six year old girl. She had been there at least a week. Parents didn't even file a missing persons report so naturally they became the first suspects. But when I went to talk to them, they were gone. Fled the country from what I heard. Then I found out the people she was living with weren't her biological parents, they were her foster parents. Mom died giving birth and dad was serving life in prison for murder. Foster parents gave her back to foster care than left. No record of anyone else having adopted her. Foster center said they figured she ran away, like so many others. Found out at her autopsy that whoever had taken her had kept her for at least a couple days, they even raped her. Never found out who. And since there was no one to claim her, I helped pay for her burial. It's something that I'll never forget. I still have nightmares." said Erica.

"You wouldn't be human if you could say you didn't. We see some of the worst things that no one should have to in their lifetime." said Greg, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know." said Erica, placing her hand on top of his.

"So, did you find anything new yet?" asked Greg, trying to change the subject.

"No, no not yet. I'm hoping I get lucky but so far, it's been no luck." said Erica.

"Well, why don't you take a break and we get something to eat. You've been in here for hours." said Greg.

"I could use a break. My neck's starting to kill me." said Erica, rubbing her sore neck.

Greg moved her hands out of the way and starting massaging her neck for her.

"How's that feel?" he asked.

"Mmm, feels good." said Erica, closing her eyes.

"There'll be more where this came from later." said Greg.

"Really?" asked Erica, turning around to look at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"Definitely." said Greg, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Sounds good. Now, how 'bout that break?" asked Erica.

Greg helped her clean up and put the evidence back than they headed into the break room. Erica grabbed her lunch out of the fridge, got a soda out of the machine and sat down at the table next to Greg, who already had his lunch in front of him. She had just started eating when her cell phone started ringing. She took it out and answered it. It was Brass.

"Hope you're sitting down 'cause you're not gonna like this. The FBI's on their way over. They're taking over Warrick's case." said Brass.

"What?! You have got to be kidding me? Why'd they wait so long?" asked Erica.

"Who knows but they just paid the sheriff a visit and I just got a call from the undersheriff. They're heading to the lab now to take over the evidence." said Brass.

"Great. No confidence in us I guess." said Erica.

Right then, she spotted several men in suits heading toward the break room.

"And speak of the devil, here they come now. I'll call you back." said Erica before hanging up with Brass as the men walked into the break room.

"Erica Baker?" asked one of them.

"That'd be me. Can I help you?" said Erica, standing up.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you can. We're here to take the evidence from the Warrick Brown homicide." said the same agent.

"What?!" exclaimed Greg, getting to his feet.

Erica held up her hand to stop him before he said anything that he might regret later.

Nick, Catherine and Grissom walked in the break room at that moment, slowing to stop when they saw the three men in suits standing in front of Erica and Greg.

"What's going on here?" asked Grissom.

"You must be Supervisor Gil Grissom. I'm Agent Malone, this Agent Harper and Agent Hill. We're with the FBI, here to take over the case for Warrick Brown's murder." said Agent Malone.

"You can't do that." said Nick, a bit of anger in his voice.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." said Agent Malone. He took a paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Grissom. "Court order."

"I'll show you gentlemen to the evidence vault." said Grissom, leading the three agents down the hall.

"They can't do this, they can't just come in here and take over Warrick's case. They have no intention of finding out who shot him." said Nick, looking around at the other three standing in the room with him.

"We know Nick." said Erica.

"So what are we gonna do now?" asked Greg.

"Especially now that the Feds have all the evidence." said Catherine.

"Not all of it, at least not yet. They just have what was here." said Erica.

"Warrick's car." said Nick.

"Alright, Catherine and I will head to the car, hopefully we beat the Feds to it. Nick, you and Greg go back to the diner, maybe you can refresh their memories and find someone who saw something or find something new that we missed at the scene before." said Erica.

Everyone nodded before splitting into pairs and heading their separate ways. Catherine drove her and Erica toward the impound lot where Warrick's car was being held while Nick drove himself and Greg to the diner and the scene of Warrick's shooting.

Catherine parked the car and the two of them climbed out, heading toward the gate of the impound lot. They got one of the guys to open it and headed to where Warrick's car was at. When they reached the car, they saw a man in suit who was obviously an FBI agent standing next to it, watching as it was being loaded onto a tow truck.

"We're too late, they beat us to it." said Catherine.

"They must have known we were come here after those agents showed up the lab so they decided to beat us here. Now we have nothing to work with." said Erica.

"Let's hope Nick and Greg have better luck than we did." said Catherine.

"Yeah." said Erica as they started heading back to the car. "Hey, I think this is one of the first times you've actually been nice to me. Does this mean that you're starting to trust me?"

"A little. But don't push your luck." said Catherine but with a smile, letting Erica know she was half-joking, half-serious.

Erica couldn't help but smile herself, knowing that Catherine was finally starting to trust her, even if it was only a little trust but it was a start.

The two of them climbed in the car and headed toward the diner to meet up with the two guys, hoping that the two of them had found something that they could actually work with to catch whoever had shot and killed Warrick.

Little did the girls know that their two guys weren't fairing much better than they had. No one in the diner wanted to take about what they heard or may have seen the night of the shooting. This just frustrated them so they headed outside to where Warrick's had been sitting when he was shot. They looked around, seeing some of the glass left behind from the window that shattered when one the bullets went through their friends neck. It sent a chill down their spines just thinking about it. They examined the area where the car had been sitting, not finding much of anything they hadn't already seen. It tore them up to think that they might not find out who had shot their friend. They figured that it might be Pritchard since he had been the one to set up Warrick for Gedda's murder but then they figured it might be someone higher up since Pritchard was already long gone when Warrick was shot.

Catherine and Erica walked into the alley to see their two guys looking almost helpless as they stood there, not knowing what else to do to try and help their fallen friend.

"Hey. Any luck you guys?" asked Catherine as the two of them walked up to Greg and Nick.

"None. No one wants to talk about it now." said Nick.

"Okay, I have an idea. Let's recreate the scene. Greg, you're about Warrick's height. Stand about where he would have been sitting in the drivers seat." said Erica.

"Why not me?" asked Nick.

"You were the last one in the diner that night, right?" asked Erica.

"Yeah." said Nick.

"I need you to stand in front of the diner and wait about, what ten seconds for the shots to register and another five seconds to run out of the diner, so about fifteen to twenty seconds total?" asked Erica.

"Yeah, I'd say roughly about that. Sounds about right to me." said Catherine.

"Okay Nick, wait about fifteen to twenty seconds after shots are fired than come back this way like you're gonna try to help." said Erica.

Nick nodded and headed up to stand in front of the diner and wait.

"Catherine, you get to play the shooter." said Erica, grinning mischievously.

A huge grin spread across Catherine's face, sending chills down Greg's spine. He didn't like what it might mean.

"I always wanted to play the shooter where Greggy was playing the victim." said Catherine.

"Great. You owe me for this Erica." said Greg, moving to stand in the spot where Warrick's body had been found in his car.

Erica chose to ignore him.

"Okay, this is gonna be slightly less than perfect but it should give us a round about general idea of what happened. Shooter probably approached from behind." Catherine walk up from behind around where the passenger side of the car would be. "Probably knocked on the window, Warrick rolled it down which would explain how there was no glass on the passenger side of the vehicle. They probably exchanged a few words, killer than aimed his gun at Warrick." Catherine held up her hand as though she was holding a gun, aiming at Greg. "Fired twice, hitting Warrick in the neck and the chest, the one in the neck being a through and through, wiped off the gun and tossed it in the passenger seat before walking away, most likely not heading toward the diner but away from it, making it less likely he would be seen."

Catherine started heading down the alley away from the diner, Greg following since they didn't think it would be safe for any of them to be alone until they caught this guy, or these guys. As they walked away, Erica timed them, waiting for fifteen seconds.

"Alright Nick!" she yelled, signaling for him to start heading toward her.

Nick starting heading toward Erica when she signaled him to do so, watching Catherine and Greg as he did so. When he got to where Erica was standing, Greg and Catherine were standing around the corner of the alley, out of sight.

"Ten seconds. Ten seconds to get from the diner to the car." said Erica.

"Killer was already gone before anyone got out of the diner to even witness anything." said Nick as Catherine and Greg came back around the corner. He motioned for them to come back and Catherine started walking toward them, Greg following behind her.

"Yeah, and they may be getting away with murder." said Erica.

"So now what?" asked Greg.

"Well, for now, let's go back to the lab 'til we figure out something. We're sitting ducks just standing out in the open. Right now, we don't know who to trust." said Erica.

The others nodded and followed her lead.


	5. The Threatening Call

Once back at the lab, Greg and Nick the files for Jason Crewes, Joanna Cromsky (also known as Candy), Leonard Hayner who turned out to be former cop who had become a Private Investigator and was hired by Warrick to watch Lou Gedda before he was murder, and Lou Gedda himself than they met the girls in the layout room, shut the door behind them so they couldn't be overheard. They each took a file. Erica grabbed the file for Jason Crewes, Greg got the file for Candy, Nick took Leonard Hayner and Catherine took Lou Gedda's file.

"Alright, Jason Crewes body was found next to a garbage truck that he had fallen out of after a high speed pursuit. The driver of the truck was killed when he tried to run from police. Autopsy ruled that he had been suffocated. Nick and Catherine process his house and it's believed he was murdered there after Catherine discovers blue stains on his bed sheets. Garbage truck belonged to Anthony Pazzulo, died in 1983. Pazzulo turned out to be Crewes father and when his mother, Linda was questioned, she said she had given the trucks to Lou Gedda, owner of Pigalle Boulevard strip club. He told Warrick and Brass that Brody Biggs, Crewes' presumed killer and a former cop, worked for him at his auto detail business and he used to bring in clients but according to Gedda, he hadn't seen Biggs in a week. Crewes told Gedda that he was done doing busy with him and, from Warrick figured, Gedda hired Biggs as a hit man to get rid of Crewes before he caused problems. Then Candy turns up dead in the back of Warrick's car." said Erica, turning the spotlight over to Greg.

"Joanna Cromsky was a one of the dancers that worked for Gedda in his club. She apparently caught Warrick's eye and he tried to get information from her. He follows her to a bar before they end up going to a hotel. Guess what happened next. When Warrick went back to Gedda's club to get his car, it was only to discover it was now evidence and that Joanna's body was hanging out the back seat, her throat slashed. He became the first suspect in her murder but later cleared but Grissom ended up suspending him when he refused to let it go after being told by both Grissom and the Undersheriff." said Greg.

"Leonard Hayner was found in the bottom of a coffin. We found out that he used to be a cop but later became a Private Investigator. Archie found a tape from one of the sessions that the PI had that had a incriminating message from Gedda. Grissom and I went to his office only to find that someone had already been there and cleared out anything else we could use. Later we discovered that Warrick was the one that hired him to follow Gedda. Officer Daniel Pritchard's fingerprints were found inside the coffin where the PI's body was found. There was petechial hemorrhaging at autopsy, signs of asphyxiation. Chloroform was found in Hayner's system as well, making it easier to kill him without him putting up a fight." said Nick.

"And that's around the time that Warrick was found, standing in front of Lou Gedda's body. He had been handcuffed in his own barber chair, beaten and shot. There was also chloroform found in his system but when we tested Warrick's blood for chloroform, there was none. It had already dissipated from his system. Grissom and Brass were the first at the scene, Nick and myself showed up later but the Undersheriff refused to let us have it, giving it to day shift along with IAB. We returned to the lab to figure what we could do to help. The evidence, as much as any of us hated to say it than and even now, did seem to point to Warrick. Grissom checked out the blood spatter on Warrick's shirt and found a void, showing that someone had held him up when Gedda was shot and showing that he was not the shooter. Then Grissom took a closer look at the ligature marks on Gedda's wrists and they had not come from Warrick's handcuffs. The handcuffs that originally bound Gedda had to have to been thicker than Warrick's, at least three millimeters thicker. Griss and I than checked the fingerprints from both Gedda's scene and Leonard Hayner's. Daniel Pritchard's were found at both. Grissom and Brass went to check Pritchard's locker. His handcuffs were missing but his keys were still there and Grissom found blood on them, Gedda's blood. He presented it to the the Undersheriff and IAB and Warrick was cleared. We all than went out to the diner to celebrate. That's the last time we all saw Warrick alive." said Catherine.

"Okay, so what do all of these cases have in common? Besides Lou Gedda?" asked Erica.

"Well, Warrick worked the Crewes case with me and Grissom." said Greg.

"And he questioned Candy in the strip club, had a drink with her and slept with her at that hotel before becoming a possible suspect in her murder." said Nick.

"And he's the one who hired Hayner. He ended up covered in Gedda's blood, being number one suspect in his death." said Catherine.

"Who else was on each of those cases besides any of you guys?" asked Erica, looking over the file in her hand again.

"You thinking there might be another mole in the department?" asked Catherine.

"Possibly. Maybe someone higher than Pritchard." said Erica.

"Well, Brass was the detective on all of them but I'm pretty sure we can rule him out. He's definitely on our side." said Nick.

"We need to find out who isn't, maybe we'll find out who shot Warrick." said Erica. She continued looking at the file in front of her. "Undersheriff McKeen was on the Crewes case, agreeing with a judge to deny Warrick a warrant to search Gedda's club and even told him to drop the investigation."

"He was also on Gedda's case as well. He believed that Warrick did kill Gedda. He got pretty upset when Warrick confronted about the Warrant for Pigalle Blvd and he seemed pretty upset when we got Warrick off the hook. He wanted Grissom to fire him but Grissom wanted to just demote him and suspend him for awhile." said Catherine.

"You don't think that...?" Nick began but he couldn't finish the question. He wasn't sure he even wanted to.

"It's possible. He was pissed when he saw Greg with me at the crime scene. Tried to get to me to take him off but I refused and told him I'd call the sheriff if I had to." said Erica.

The others looked around at each other, not really sure that they wanted to believe it. The silence was broken by Erica's cell phone ringing. She took it out, looking at the called id. It was a private caller. She flipped it open and answered it, wanting to see who it was.

"Hello?" she said.

"Put the phone on speaker, so you're little CSI friends can hear." said an unidentifiable male voice.

Erica was confused by the request but did as the person on the phone said, hitting the speaker button on her phone.

"Now, listen to me very carefully. I want the four of you CSI's to stop with the investigation. Yes, I know that there are indeed four of you sticking your noses where they don't belong. CSI Level Three Catherine Willows, CSI Level Three Nicholas Stokes, CSI Level One Gregory Sanders, and even you, CSI Level One Erica Baker. Unless you four want to end up like your friend, Warrick Brown, I strongly you suggest that you stop this little escapade of yours and just let it go. All you'll find is trouble and you could only end up hurt, or worse. Drop this, or you will be forced to. And I already have a next target in mind. I'll give you a little hint as to who it may be. It's not one of the ladies. You'll have to figure the rest by yourselves. Heed my warning now, or suffer the consequences." and with that, the person hung up.

Erica hung up her phone slowly than both her and Catherine's gazes turned to Greg and Nick. No one bothered saying anything, too in shock by their mysterious caller. It took them a few minutes to recover.

"Anyone have anymore bright ideas?" asked Catherine.

No one answered her question. They seemed to be out of any ideas. That is until an idea hit Erica. She knew she probably shouldn't say anything and that it would be the most dangerous idea that she has had so far but she was willing to risk it to catch this guy before he hurt anyone else.

"I may have one, but I don't think you're gonna like it." said Erica.

"You better not be thinking what I think that you're thinking." said Greg.

Erica looked at him and the look on her face that she was thinking what he thought she was thinking.

"No." said Greg sternly.

"What? What are you thinking of doing?" asked Nick.

"She wants to go to Gedda's crime scene." said Greg.

Erica quickly looked away, looking down at her hands and avoiding their gazes.

"Erica, you can't. It's too dangerous." said Catherine.

"Yeah. And didn't listen to that phone call just now? This guy already has his next target picked out." said Nick.

"But it's not me or Catherine." said Erica.

"If you're going back out to that club than I'm going with you." said Catherine.

"No. I need you to go to Hayner's office and give it another look around." said Erica.

"And what about me and Nick? You think we're just gonna sit around and let you and Catherine go out there by yourselves?" asked Greg.

"I'm sorry but yes. Right it's too dangerous for you guys. I'm really sorry but this is how it has to be done. There's no other way." said Erica, looking at him seriously. She wasn't about to back down now. She had come too far to give up now.

"Yes there is. Don't go." said Greg.

"I'm not gonna change my mind Greg. Besides, I can take care of myself. I'm in too deep to back out now." said Erica.

"Yeah, so was Warrick and look what happened. We lost one friend already, don't make up lose another." said Nick.

"And when did you and Catherine start considering me a friend? You guys have been up my ass since the moment I got here." said Erica, turning her attention to Nick.

"We didn't give you a chance and for that we're sorry. We see how much Greg cares about you and if he thinks you deserve a chance than we should too." said Catherine.

"Thank you." said Erica, pausing. "But I'm still not changing my mind, I'm sorry."

Catherine and Nick just sighed, defeated but Greg stormed out of the room. Erica followed after him. She searched the whole lab for him before she found him out in the parking garage. His back was to her but she knew he was upset with her.

"Greg, look, I am sorry but I'm not gonna back down from a case just because some guy trying to scare me tells me to." said Erica.

Greg didn't say anything.

"Please talk to me. Don't give me the silent treatment." said Erica.

"I don't wanna see you get hurt." said Greg, finally turning around and facing her.

"Nothing is gonna happen to me." said Erica.

"You don't know that for sure. Anything could happen." said Greg.

"I know that but I'm not gonna be spooked into giving up. It's not what I do, it's not how I am. I don't scare easily and don't let anyone intimate me." said Erica.

"That's not the point." said Greg.

"Than what is Greg? What is the point, huh?" asked Erica.

"Never mind, just forget." said Greg, turning away from her again.

"Come on Greg, why can't you just tell me? Why are you avoiding the answer?" asked Erica.

Greg remained silent.

"Answer the damn question Greg!" said Erica, feeling her patience wearing thin. She didn't have time for this.

"Because I care about you too much!" yelled Greg.

Erica was taken aback by the answer. She knew that Greg cared about her as close as they were but she hadn't realized just how much he cared about her 'til now.

Greg looked like he wished he hadn't said it. But it was too late, he couldn't.

"I see." said Erica. "I wished you would have told me sooner."

"Forget it, forget I even said anything." said Greg, starting to walk by her to go back inside but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I can't do that. Because I care about you too, a lot." said Erica, smiling slightly.

Greg said nothing, choosing instead to rest his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

"Everything's gonna be alright, I promise." said Erica, closing her eyes too.

"I wish I believe that." said Greg.

"Trust me." said Erica, opening her eyes and placing a hand on his cheek.

"It's not you I don't trust." said Greg, opening his eyes and locking with hers.

"I know." said Erica, wrapping her arms around his neck while he put his around her waist.

"At least let me go with you." said Greg, hoping to change her mind.

"You're not gonna let this go are you?" asked Erica.

"Not a chance." said Greg.

Erica heaved a sigh, knowing there was no use arguing with him anymore.

"Alright, fine. You win." she said.

"I love winning." said Greg, smiling.


	6. Truths & Confessions

Erica pulled up outside of the Pigualle Blvd strip club, parking the car than her and Greg climbed out. It was night so they took out their flashlights and turned them on, looking around to make sure no one was watching them. Then they started looking around, making sure that they stayed close to one another. Greg followed Erica as she walked over to a small gate, opening it and walking through it. In front of them was what looked like a fire pit.

"I don't think this was being used for barbeque's." said Erica.

"No kidding." said Greg.

Erica noticed smoke coming out of it and cautiously held her hand over it.

"It's still hot." she said.

Greg walked over to the crank and turned it a few times, pulling up the lid to the pit and opening it so that they could see what was in it. As soon as he opened it, he almost wished he hadn't. The smell of burnt flesh quickly filled the air, and their nostrils.

"Oh God." said Erica, quickly covering her nose and turning away briefly. Composing herself, she turned back to the pit as Greg rejoined her. Both of them shone their flashlights inside to discover a familiar face looking up at them. "Well, good news and bad news. Good news is that we finally found Pritchard. Bad news is that someone else apparently beat us to him and tried to dispose of his body." she said.

"I'll call Nick and Catherine, let them know what we found." said Greg.

"I'll call Brass and inform him what's going on." said Erica, heading back to the car, having accidentally left it in there on the car charger after finding it was almost dead. She took it off the charger and dialed Brass' number. He picked up after a few rings. "Hey, Brass, you're not gonna believe this. Greg and I just found Pritchard. Only someone else got to him first."

"Where are you guys?" asked Brass.

"Pigalle Blvd." said Erica, knowing she would probably get a lecture from the captain.

"What the hell are you two doing there? Are you crazy?" asked Brass, proving her right.

"Save it please Brass. You can lecture us later but you need to get down here now." said Erica.

"I'll be right there, don't you two move. And you stay together, don't let each other out of one another's sight 'til I get there." said Brass.

"Yeah, I got it. See you in a few." said Erica before hanging up and heading back to Greg, watching the ground as she walked, not really paying attention to anything in front of her. "I just talked to Brass, he's on his way..." but she stopped short when she looked up to see Greg on his knees with the Undersheriff behind him, pointing the gun at the back of his head. She felt fear grip her and she froze, not sure what to do now.

"You just couldn't let it go, could you? You just had to come here and snoop around, despite my threats and my warning." said McKeen.

Erica head shot up at that.

"That was you on the phone earlier." she said, angering rising in her but she knew she had to contain herself.

"You're smarter than you look." said McKeen with a small sneer. "Yes, that was indeed me. Pritchard was already dead. He served his purpose so it was time to get rid of him before he got caught and caused any problems for me. Not that it did me any good now. You two just had to show up and ruin it. "

"We would have find out the truth sooner or later McKeen, you know that. It's how evidence works." said Erica.

"I left no evidence. I made sure not to leave any finger prints on the car, I used a gun that wasn't registered, I even wiped it off after I shot him." said McKeen.

"Yeah, you had almost planned out perfectly. You just didn't count on me coming in to take the case." said Erica.

"No, I didn't. And I didn't count on you staying as long as you have. I figured you would give up after a couple days but no, you had to keep the case open, had to keep investigating and promise his friends that you were gonna catch his killer." said McKeen.

"And I intend to keep that promise McKeen. You should never have underestimated me. Killing Warrick was your biggest mistake, but you made an even bigger mistake thinking I would quit. I don't quit, ever. I fight. I was born a fighter, and that's how I'll be 'til the day I die. And no one is going to change that." said Erica.

"Really, 'cause I would like to think otherwise. I seriously doubt you're gonna risk Sanders' life right now, not after he managed to dupe you into getting in the sack with him." At Erica shocked expression, he sneered more. "Oh yes, I know all about you two. I've been watching you. You should be more careful as to where you let your emotions and feelings get the better of you. I saw you two in the doorway of his apartment. I saw him kiss you. I even witnessed the little scene between you two in parking garage after my phone call. To tell you the truth, it made me sick to stomach."

"Go to hell." said Erica before she could stop herself.

"You may wanna watch what you say. I may just let your little boyfriend here join Mr. Pritchard in the fire pit, and I won't even put him out of his misery before I throw him in there." said McKeen, giving Greg a little nudge toward the fire pit but not enough to make him fall in, just enough to get his point across. And it worked. He watched Erica flinch as though ready to run forward to try and save Greg. "You know, I bet he's never told you about the little incident last year where he killed a boy."

Erica was a bit confused by what McKeen just said, not knowing what he was talking about. She looked at Greg but he avoided her gaze.

"Well, let me fill in. Sanders here was on his way to meet Sofia Curtis at a scene to pick up some evidence. He happened to be driving by an alley where a gang was beating up a guy. He did the right thing in the beginning, calling for back-up which was five minutes away. Instead of waiting for said back-up, he turned down the alley and ended up hitting one of the guys." said McKeen.

"I was trying to get them to leave, I didn't intend on hitting or killing anyone." said Greg.

"Shut up Sanders." said McKeen, pushing his gun in the back of head. "The rest of the gang smashed his windows and, after pulling him out, beat him and left him. Demetrius James died in the hospital from his injuries and after the worthless jury ruled the death as excusable at the coroner's inquest, the family decided them wanted to sue. Instead of going to trial, the family was paid off." he said.

"Well, why you and the rest of the county were thinking of covering your own asses, you fed him to the wolves and made him look guilty, like he had intended to kill that boy. You forget the fact that he saved a man's life while risking his own. He's a hero in my opinion. I would've done the same. And I'd risk my life for him." said Erica.

"And from what I've heard, that's not all you'd do. Tell me something, how did a guy like him get a girl like you into bed with him?" asked McKeen.

"That's none of your business." said Erica, trying to keep herself under control as she felt her temper rising. She knew that McKeen was trying to taunt her into making a mistake and she wasn't going to allow it.

This just made McKeen grin in satisfaction. He knew he was starting to get under her skin.

"Now let me ask you something McKeen. Is this the result of covering up too many mistakes in the department so it still looks good to the public or have you always been an arrogant self-centered son-of-a-bitch?" asked Erica, taking her turn to taunt McKeen.

And it worked like a charm. She watched with satisfaction as his grin turned to a scowl before he turned his gun on her but she was quicker, reaching around and pulling a gun out of the waistband of her jeans and aiming it at McKeen.

"Think again." she said, holding the gun steady.

The undersheriff seemed surprised at first, lowering his gun a little, but then he just laughed.

"You don't have the guts to pull that trigger. You don't have what it takes." he said.

"Try me and see." said Erica, pulling back the hammer, silently daring the undersheriff to do something to make her shot him. "Now drop the gun or I will shoot."

But McKeen ignored her. He raised his gun again, aiming at Erica. With no choice, she pulled the trigger on her gun, the same time as McKeen. She hit him in the chest, sending him backwards and he landed on his back. The bullet he fired hit her in the shoulder, knocking back into the wall and she slid down it to the ground.

"Erica!" yelled Greg, jumping to his feet and running to her side to see how bad she was hurt. He saw the blood pouring from the wound where the bullet had hit her shoulder.

"I'm alright, it's just my shoulder." said Erica, trying not to worry him.

Greg quickly took off his forensics jacket and pressed it to the wound to try and stop the bleed but also accidentally making her winch in pain.

"Sorry." he said quickly, not meaning to cause her pain.

"It's okay, not your fault." said Erica. She took his free hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm actually glad you came." she said, smiling to try and lighten the mood a little.

"Me too." said Greg, returning the smile. He then pressed his lips to hers, only to be interrupted a minute by Brass.

"Didn't I tell you two not let yourselves out of each other's sight? Didn't I tell you to watch your backs." he said.

"Nice to see you two Brass, we're fine thank you. Now do you mind calling me an ambulance? I'm kind of bleeding here from a bullet in my shoulder and yes, it is very painful. Thanks for asking though." said Erica, adding a bit of sarcasm.

Brass just shook his head than got on his phone.

"Yes, I need paramedics at the Pigalle Blvd strip club. We have two cops down, one with a bullet wound to the shoulder." he said.

"Amazing, you have to tell people to do something before they actually do it. Guess it's a good thing it's not more serious." said Erica, trying to make a joke but it didn't work.

Greg's smile faded and he looked down.

"Hey, come on, I was kidding." said Erica, lifting his chin and making him look back up at her.

"It wasn't funny. I thought for a minute that I was gonna lose you." said Greg.

"But you're not. I'm gonna be just fine." said Erica.

Greg just nodded, choosing not to say anything.

Erica opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off when she heard a loud bang and she watched Greg's face contort with surprise and pain before, as if in slow motion, he fell to ground, laying on his side. It didn't register what happened at first until she saw the blood behind him. She looked up to see McKeen with his gun raised. He now had it aimed at her again but before he could pull the trigger, he was shot three more times before he fell back again, this time laying motionless. Brass ran over, gun still aimed at McKeen and checked for signs of life, moving his gun out of his reach. But Erica's attention was quickly back on Greg as she moved to his side.

"Greg? Greg, come on, say something." she pleaded as she watched him fight to keep his eyes open. "Stay with me Greg, you gotta stay with me."

"Erica..." he managed to chock out.

"It's okay, save your strength. You're gonna be okay, just stay with me." said Erica, squeezing his hand as Brass came over and placed pressure on the wound, doing his best to stop the bleeding. She kept her eyes locked with Greg's willing him to stay with her. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes but she held them back. She didn't want him to see her cry. She could hear sirens approaching and hoped it was the paramedics. She didn't know how long he would be able to hold on. "Hang in there for Greg, you've gotta hang in there." she coaxed.

"I..don't..think I can." said Greg.

"Yes you can, you have to. You can't leave me, I won't let you. You are not giving up on me." said Erica, steeling her voice as she fought not to cry. "I love you Greg."

Greg stared back at her, wondering if he heard right. The pain and loss of blood could be making him hear things but a voice in the back of his mind told him that he wasn't.

"I love you too." he said, feeling himself growing weaker. He couldn't hold on much longer. He could feel his eyes growing heavier and heavier with each second that passed. "I will always love you, no matter what." he added as quick as he could.

Erica didn't take this as a good sign. She could tell he was having more trouble staying awake. She knew that if he lost consciousness, she could lose him.

"No, don't you quit on me Greg Sanders. You stay with me, you hear me? You stay awake. I can't lose you, I need you." she said. She could see the paramedics approaching out of the corner of her eye but she didn't move. She wanted to stay with him as long as possible. She felt a pair of hands on her arms, trying to pull her away but she wouldn't allow it, forgetting all about the fact that she had a bullet in her shoulder. "No, no I can't leave him."

"Ma'am, you need to have your shoulder taken care of." said one of the paramedics. His buddy was working on Greg.

"Promise me that you'll take care of him, that you won't let anything happen to him." said Erica.

"Promise. Now let me have a look at your shoulder." said the paramedic.

Erica nodded and allowed him to pull her a few feet away from Greg but she refused to let him out of her sight as the paramedic examined and bandaged her shoulder. The other paramedic, aided by Brass, loaded Greg onto a stretcher and started taking him away.

"I wanna go with him." she said, making sure that her tone told them that she was not to be told no.

The paramedic didn't argue helping her to her feet, taking her to the ambulance that Greg was taken to. He helped his buddy get the stretcher containing Greg into the ambulance than he helped her in before he and his buddy followed. Erica could only watch the two of them stabilize Greg the best they could as they headed to the hospital. She held his hand the whole time, giving it a small squeeze so he knew she was there and she had no intention on leaving him. When they got to the hospital, Greg was taken one way while Erica was drug down another to a room to wait for a doctor to take care of her shoulder.


	7. Healing & Toasts Final Chapter

Erica was starting to go stir crazy. She had been sitting in a bed, her arm in a sling to keep her from moving her injured shoulder too much, in the same room at that hospital for a few hours now and no one was telling her what was going on with Greg. She had asked several nurses that came to check on her but they had no answers for her. She was starting to get very agitated. She was getting ready to get up and go get her answers from someone when Grissom, Nick and Catherine walked in, the few people she was actually pleased to see.

"We heard what happened and came as soon as we could. What's going on with Greg?" asked Catherine.

"I don't know. I've been sitting in here for hours waiting to hear something but no one will tell me anything." said Erica.

At that moment, the doctor walked in and stopped at the sight of her friends.

"You must be friends of Miss Baker's." said the doctor.

"Forget the pleasantries. I wanna know what the hell is going on with Greg and why I haven't been told anything." said Erica, letting him know how upset she was.

"Right, well, Mr. Sanders just got out of surgery. They had to be very careful removing the bullet, he's lucky it didn't hit his spine. He's lost a lot of blood but he is stable and is in recovery right now." said the doctor.

"I want to see him. And don't give me any of that crap about me not being in any condition to see him. If you don't let me see him now, I'll just find a way to see him later. Might as well save yourself the trouble now." said Erica.

"It's true, she's very stubborn doc." said Nick.

"Alright. I'll send a nurse in and she'll escort you down to see Mr. Sanders." said the doctor and he turned and left.

Just as promised, a nurse came in a few minutes later and she took Erica down to recovery. When she walked in, she saw Greg laying on his side, breathing on his own and that was a good sign. She walked over and sat down on the bed next to him, taking him hand. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her.

"Hey there. How do you feel?" asked Erica, knowing it was a stupid question but it was all she could think of.

"I've been better. What about you?" asked Greg, noticing the sling.

"Oh this." said Erica, motioning to her shoulder. "This is nothing, I'll live. It's just a little sore, that's all. You should be worrying about yourself. Doctor says that you were lucky the bullet didn't hit your spine."

"We were both pretty lucky." said Greg.

"Yeah, we were. Guess things could have been worse." said Erica, giving a small laugh to keep herself from crying but it didn't work and she looked away from Greg, only to have him turn her face back toward his.

"Hey, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked even though he knew.

"I was so scared. I almost thought for sure that I was gonna lose you. I thought you were gonna give up on me." said Erica, a couple tears falling from her eyes.

Greg reached up with his free hand and wiped them away before gently pulled pulling her down to lay next to him, holding up the covers for her and letting climb under them, laying on her uninjured shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"Everything's gonna be okay, I promise. I'm still here, and I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon." he said. He watched her just nod her head than he felt her relaxing in his arms.

* * *

A few weeks passed and everything had gotten back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get in Las Vegas. Both Greg and Erica had healed from their injuries sustained by the Undersheriff. Everyone had been shocked to find out the undersheriff had been the one who had shot Warrick but after a week, it was almost like no one had ever even heard of Jeffery McKeen. A new undersheriff had been appointed, one less politicking. Erica was happy to be a member the night shift CSI team, not able to ask to be working with a better group of people. She had told her old boss back home that she quit and she officially moved to Vegas, moving into Greg's apartment. What wouldn't fit or what she didn't need, she sold for a little extra cash.

Greg, Grissom, Sara, Catherine and Nick walked into a small club to hang out and have some fun. It was the weekend and they all actually had the day off, which they were glad for.

"So why did Erica tell us to meet her here again?" asked Nick.

"She said it was a surprise." said Catherine.

Right then, lights came on over a small stage. Sitting on a stool with a guitar on her lap was Erica. Her eyes were down and her face void of any emotion. Then she slowly looked up at her friends and smiled as she started strumming away on the guitar. Her eyes stayed mostly on Greg, which wasn't really surprising to the others. If possible, the two had grown closer since the incident at the club. Then Erica surprised them all when she started singing.

"Are you the one?, The traveler in time who has come, To heal my wounds to lead me to the sun, To walk this path with me until the end of time;

"Are you the one?, Who sparkles in the night like fireflies, Eternity of evening sky, Facing the morning eye to eye;

"Are you the one?, Who'd share this life with me, Who'd dive into the sea with me, Are you the one?, Who's had enough of pain, And doesn't wish to feel the shame, anymore, Are you the one?

"Are you the one?, Who's love is like a flower that needs rain, To wash away the feeling of pain, Which sometimes can lead to the chain of fear, Are you the one?, To walk with me in garden of stars, The universe, the galaxies and Mars, The supernova of our love is true;

"Are you the one?, Who'd share this life with me, Who'd dive into the sea with me, Are you the one?, Who's had enough of pain, And doesn't wish to feel the shame, anymore, Are you the one?" Erica stopped singing but continued to play, her eyes now on the guitar as she concentrated. She continued for a couple more minutes before she started singing again, her eyes back on Greg once again. "Are you the one?, Who'd share this life with me, Who'd dive into the sea with me, Are you the one?, Who's had enough of pain, And doesn't wish to feel the shame, anymore, Are you the one?"

The whole club broke into applause as she finished and stopped playing, a smile playing on her face. She stood and took a bow before setting down the guitar and walking off the stage and joining her friends.

"I didn't know you could sing." said Catherine.

"Very few people do. I only use it on rare occasions." said Erica.

"Well, you're gonna have to do it more often 'cause you're good. You could've made a career out of it." said Nick.

"Yeah, well, maybe in another life. Besides, I like what I'm doing just fine." said Erica.

"Someone has to. Might as well be us." said Greg.

"Amen to that." said Catherine.

They all ordered drinks, ready to have some fun and hoping that they wouldn't regret it tomorrow.

"Oh hey, I wanna propose a toast." said Grissom, raising his glass.

"To what exactly?" asked Catherine.

"To Erica." said Grissom, everyone else raising their drinks as well. "If it wasn't for you coming here and working hard to find Warrick's killer, he might still on the lose, or he may have taken another from my team 'til none were left. Even when things looked bad, you didn't quit and kept going to end. We all owe you our gratitude, and our lives. And, also I think that if it wasn't for you, I don't know if Greg would have been able find happiness like he has with you. The way he looks at you or the way the two of you act when you're together, I'm glad that he was able to find someone like you. I hope you two find happiness for years to come."

"Hear hear!" said Sara, Nick and Catherine as they all clinked their drinks together and taking a drink.

"Just know that if you hurt him, we'll make sure you regret it later." said Sara.

"Thanks for the warning but I have no intentions of doing such a thing." said Erica, turning and looking Greg in the eyes and taking his hand in hers, both of them smiling.

"That's good to hear, we'll keep that in mind." said Catherine.

The rest of the night was spent having fun with some drinks, dancing, and more drinks. They didn't want it to come to an end but when most of them could barely stand, let alone walk or even see straight, they each took a cab and headed home. Nick and Catherine rode together instead of taking separate cabs, Sara and Grissom rode together since they were going to the same place anyway. After seeing their friends off, Erica and Greg called their own cab and headed home themselves but refused to call it a night just yet.

* * *

_**Sorry, I apologize. I know it's a short chapter but it was late and I kind of ran out of ideas. Please feel free to review and tell me what you think. I can't wait for Season Nine to start so we can actually find out what happens and if Warrick dies or not. I think they should have at least showed us if he lived or not and his friend's reactions. I think that would have been a good close to the season but no, they have to leave us hanging. I never really liked him that much but I never wanted him to get shot. He was still a good character for the show and good addition to the team. They all had different personalities but they all fit together. Anyway, let me know what you all think. I'm still working on my other CSI fic, All That Stands Forgiven and I have another I'm working on but it won't get posted until I finish ATSF, which should only have a few chapters left to go. Feel free to check it out and see what you think. Here's the link for those that wanna read it: /secure/livepreview.php?storyid4037882&chapter1/.  
**_


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